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International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology E-ISSN 2277 – 4106, P-ISSN 2347 – 5161

©2016 INPRESSCO®, All Rights Reserved Available at http://inpressco.com/category/ijcet

Research Article

Productivity Improvement in Welding Robot


Bhagyashri G Chandankar†* and Viresh M Chapte‡
†Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s Institute of Technology, SPPU, Pune 47, India
‡Dr. D Y PATIL Knowledge City, SPPU, Pune 412105, India

Accepted 01 Oct 2016, Available online 05 Oct 2016, Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016)

Abstract

One of the most common automated processes in an assembly line is welding. Robotic welding is used by many
companies around the world because the process is easily automated and more efficient than a professional welder.
The main benefits of an automated welding process are, improved weld quality, increased productivity, decreased
waste production, decreased costs associated with labor .We adopted a chance to work on that robot to improve its
productivity for the company. Our job is to provide company with such productivity increment by making
improvement of welding robot. So that their requirements are fulfilled and it would be economical also.

Keywords: Downtime analysis. Efficiency, Position, Productivity, Welding robot

1. Introduction

1 Fora manufacturing company to remain competitive in consider many variables when deciding if a robotic
today’s market they must produce a quality product at operation is appropriate for their application. The
the highest possible efficiency. Over the past century initial cost of a manual welding process is significantly
there have been large strides in manufacturing lower than an automated welding process so an
processes. Ever since Henry Ford’s introduction of the automated system must be able to quickly recover the
assembly line, businesses have been focused on using initial investment. Flexibility is also an issue that must
available technologies to manufacture their products at be considered because in a manual system the worker
minimal cost. During the manufacturing process there can easily adjust to any new tasks, where as it is much
are many different parameters that need to be harder to adapt a robotic welder to a different job,
controlled, such as, limiting waste, assembly downtime, Mikell P. Groover, et, al, 1986).
and labor compensation to be able to produce at a
minimal cost. In recent years the concentration of the
manufacturing community has been on automated
processes because they produce higher quality
products and higher production rates. In 2003 North
America alone spent 877 million dollars on robotics
used for manufacturing, a 19 percent increase over the
amount spent in 2002. This increase in spending
reflects manufacturers need for greater efficiency from
their manufacturing process (James S. Albas , 1982).
One of the most common automated processes in
an assembly line is welding. Robotic welding is used by
many companies around the world because the process
is easily automated and more efficient than a
professional welder. The main benefits of an Fig.1 Welding Robot (OTC Daihen DR -4000)
automated welding process are, improved weld
quality, increased productivity, decreased waste 2. Welding Robot
production, decreased costs associated with labor.
However, an automated welding operation may not be When following through the history of welding, in year
best suited for every application. A company must 1988, matrix of robots are employed in the automobile
industry to perform resistance spot welding on car
*Corresponding author: Bhagyashri G Chandankar bodies. Following that, more and more arc welding
251| MMIT, Lohgaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India, NCPSM- 2016, INPRESSCO IJCET Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016)
Bhagyashri G Chandankar et al Productivity Improvement in Welding Robot

robots are being installed both in large and small Table 2 Model DR-4000 Basic Configuration
manufacturing plants. Since then, welding robots are
used in two ways in manufacturing as elements in a 1 Manipulator IRB-601 1
Control unit (DR
production line and as stand-alone units (or Flexible 2
CONTROL)
IRBC-602 1
Robotic Manufacturing System) for batch production. 3 Teach pendant BBTP-1708 1
With 8m
cable
Though, robots work well for repetitive tasks on
With 5m
similar pieces that involve welds in more than one axis 4 Operation Box BBOP-5005 1
cable
or where access to the pieces is difficult, manufacturers 5 Control Cable 1&2 BIRB-9005 1 Length:5m
who have automated their welding operations request
to include more flexibility to process a variety of parts 2. Present Theory
with the same robot system. This results in the MIG/MAG is a rapid method for fully and semi-
creation of Flexible Robotic Manufacturing System. The automatic welding. Depending on the arc’s
Robot system here possesses flexibility to facilitate characteristics, welding can be carried out in all
quick changeover by changing the robot end-effector positions. Because the weld metal has low oxide and
and modifying the robot program, (Ganesh S. Hegde, slag levels, its mechanical properties are very good.
2008). This is particularly true of impact strength. Suitable
In addition, material handling robots are used metal thicknesses are 2 – 10 mm. A typical gas flow in
within welding systems to position the part while manual welding is 14 – 16 l per minute. Friction in the
welding or also to load/unload the part into a wire conduit has a critical impact on wire feed ability.
secondary operation such as an inspection station. The
gas metal arc (GMA) welding process is a welding Table 3 Welding Parameters
process that yields coalescence of metals by heating Parameters Units Range
with a welding arc between continuous filler metal Weld Current (amps) 100 ~ 250
(consumable) electrode and the -work piece. The
Arc Voltage (volts) 18 ~ 30
continuous wire electrode, which is drawn from a reel
Weld Speed (cm/min) 15 ~ 72
by an automatic wire feeder, and then fed through the
contact tip inside the welding torch, is melted by the Wire extension (mm) 12
internal resistive power and heat transferred from the
welding arc. Heat is concentrated by the welding arc 4.1 Welding Parts
from the end of the melting electrode to molten weld
a)Bonnet Lock Plate (370N)
pools and by the molten metal that is being transferred
to weld pools. Molten weld pools and electrode wire Bonnet lock plate is used to engage Bonnet of vehicle
are protected from contaminants in the atmosphere by which is situated below bonnet of vehicle. The part
a shielding gas obtained from various combinations. 370N is used in Mahindra Bolero and Mahindra Maxx
Pick-ups.
3. Robot Specifications Welding process: Projection welding (M6, M8)
manually had done on it. And the robot does tack
3.1OTC Daihen DR -4000 welding on bonnet lock plate.
The OTC Daihen DR-4000 will allow you to reach
further, while still conserving floor space. Servo
controls and a light build provide swift, effective
movements for any welding needs. This sophisticated
"Sychromotion" was developed by Daihen to allow for
multi-mechanism movement. An optional free system Fig. 2 Bonnet Lock Plate (370N)
layout allows for wall, shelf, angle or floor mounting.
b)Wind Shield (1900N)
Table 1 Robot Motion speed and range Wind shield is used to support wind glass of vehicle
which is situated below wind glass of vehicle. The
Robot Motion part 1900N is used in Mahindra Bolero and Mahindra
Axes Robot Motion Speed
Range Maxx Pick-ups.
Axis1 120 °/s (2.09 rad/s) ±340° Welding process: Spot welding is done by manually
Axis2 120 °/s (2.09 rad/s) ±240° on it. And the robot does run welding on wind shield
Axis3 145 °/s (2.53 rad/s) ±270° (1900N).
Axis4 330 °/s (5.76 rad/s) ∞
Axis5 330 °/s (5.76 rad/s) ±280°
Axis6 480 °/s (8.38 rad/s) ±640°

3.2 CO2/MAG Welding Robot System


Fig. 3 Wind Shield (1900N)

252| MMIT, Lohgaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India, NCPSM- 2016, INPRESSCO IJCET Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016)
Bhagyashri G Chandankar et al Productivity Improvement in Welding Robot

4.2 Wire Diameter part to be weld. i.e. Mild steel (MS). The recessed tip
greatly extends the tip life, reducing wire burn back
Robotic welding involves very precise tolerances and
potential and robot downtime. The recessed contact tip
even minute variations in the wire feed process can
provides a lightly extended wire extension which
result in unacceptable welds; it is important to choose
lowered the weld current. The reduction in current
a wire designed to feed smoothly through the drive
enabled to increase the wire feed rate increasing the
rolls and liner. Wires engineered specifically with
weld travel rate and decreasing the weld time.
robotic applications in mind often provide better
The requirements of customers are not satisfied by
feeding characteristics than those designed for all-
welding wire diameter 0.8 mm (0.030 inch). So it’s
purpose use. A wire that produces unreliable and
necessary modify some parameters in the welding. The
inconsistent arc starts can negate the productivity
welding process variables mainly affect the geometry
benefits of a robotic system by creating substantial
of the weld bead such as the penetration and bead size.
down time, or downstream rework. Presently we are
using wire of 0.8 mm (0.030 inch) diameter for 800
welding.

No of Parts
600
4.3 Cycle Time 400
200 0.8 mm
This is the amount of time allotted to an operation to 0 1.2 mm
perform its task(s). It is part of the manufacturing lead
time (the time needed to finish a complete underbody).
Cycle time is composed of processing time. The cycle Working Hrs
time studied for this is tabulated as follows
Fig. 5(Graph) No. of parts Vs Working hours
Table 4 Cycle time table
Bonnet Lock Wind Shield By changing welding wire diameter 0.8mm to 1.2mm,
Aspects there is increase in the `welding speed of robot by
Plate (370N) (1900N)
Total Time
49.3 sec 93.14 sec
50%. Welding speed is increased by 1.5 times the
(Home-Welding-Home) actual speed. Welding rod having diameter of 1.2 mm is
Welding Time 46.8 sec 86.21 sec
covered by copper coating.
Part loading/Unloading 49.5 sec 71.55sec

Total parts produced=4056, Performance rate=60.53% 5. SAP Calculations (Down Time Details)
The fundamental industrial processes interacts with
4.4 Work Space SAP, SAP stands for System Application and Product in
Data Processing, in the functional areas of Sales and
The task-oriented workspace, which is the workspace Distribution, Materials Management, Production
enabling specific rotations, has been defined in order to Planning, Financial Accounting, Controlling, and
validate the welding ability of the robot, and Human Capital Management.
incorporating the required rotational capabilities. The
Robot is working in either front or right side or front Applications of SAP
and left side. The Robot is welding Wind shield on front
side and Bonnet lock plate on left or right side. 1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – helps
companies acquire and retain customers, gain
marketing and customer insight.
2. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) – helps
manufacturers with product-related information.
3. Supply Chain Management (SCM) – helps companies
with the process of resourcing its manufacturing and
service processes.
4. Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) – enables
companies to procure from suppliers.
Table 4 Down time table for August & September
Fig.4 Robot working on two fixture positions Monthwise down
Sr. time analysis in
Reason Average
No. min
5. Working Aug-12 Sep-12
Material not available
5.1 Wire Diameter 1
(MN)
1455 1130 1292.5
Machine Breakdown
The robot was using 0.8 mm wire diameter which has 2
(MB)
120 105 112.5

reduced the welding speed as well as accuracy. Type of 3 House keeping (HK) 230 230 230
4 Power off (PO) 135 135 135
material for welding rod is similar to the material of 5 Breakdown losses (BL) 0 15 7.5

253| MMIT, Lohgaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India, NCPSM- 2016, INPRESSCO IJCET Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016)
Bhagyashri G Chandankar et al Productivity Improvement in Welding Robot

The down time analysis in SAP is done by using 800


command zrrOEE. The controlling of any machine by
hourly monitoring system is one of the applications of 600
SAP. The average of major downtimes for August and oct
400
September month is given in table.The average of nov
major downtimes for August and September months is 200 Dec
shown in graph.
0
MN MB HK PO BL CILT

Fig.7Down time graph of October, November &


December

6. Results

Changing welding wire diameter from 0.8 mm to 1.2


mm, there is 28% increase in the performance rate.
Welding wire shows drastic change in production.
Downtime Analysis through SAP codes gives good
results in terms of increase in availability. The increase
Fig.6 (Graph) Down time graph of August & September in availability rate results improvement in production.
The welding torch following minimum possible travel
Actions to be taken for major downtimes are given as shows reduction in cycle time of robot. Figure shows
below: Increase in Performance rate for august, September,
October, November, December and January
1. Material not available (MN)
respectively.
Action: For material is not available, we have to go for
5-why or why-why analysis with the help of shop
instructor.
2. House keeping (HK)
Action: For house keeping reason we should
implement 5-S with the help of 5-S coordinator.
3. Power off (PO)
Action: For power off, we must have extra generator
set for the machine. And the maintenance actions like
housekeeping and CILT can be completed within the
PO downtime period.
Fig. 7 (Graph) Performance rate
4. Machine Breakdown (MB)
Action: For machine breakdown, prepare PM sheet and Conclusions
reduce frequency from bimonthly to monthly. In this paper we have studied, down time analysis
through SAP. Consistent efforts by us, to achieve the
The above suggested actions were continued
productivity improvement of welding robot results in
implementing for October month. The downtimes for
increase in Performance rate from 60% to 97% , has
October, November, December months are given in
been achieved satisfactorily. We are glad to say that we
table. have learned to implement our knowledge in practical
field of company premises.
Table 5 Down Time Table For October, November &
December References
Mikell P.Groover, Mitchell Weiss, Roger N.Nagel, Nicholas
Monthwise down time analysis G.Ordrey, (1986), Industrial Robotics-Technology,
Sr in min
No
Reasons
Nov-
Programming and Application, McGraw Hill Book Company
Oct-12 Dec-13 Robert J.Schilling, (2002), Fundamentals of Robotics Analysis
12
1 Material not available (MN) 675 535 125 and Control, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi.
2 Machine Breakdown (MB) 0 0 0 Ganesh S. Hegde, (2008),A textbook on Industrial Robotics,
3 House keeping (HK) 30 80 50 University Science Press .
4 Power off (PO) 0 0 0
Berhard Hodges, (1993), Industrial Robotics-2e, Jaico
5 Breakdown losses (BL) 0 0 0
Publishing House.
Instruction Manual for Model DR Series, (2001),Installation
These Downtime values are plotted on a graph and Maintenance, Daihen corporation .

254| MMIT, Lohgaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India, NCPSM- 2016, INPRESSCO IJCET Special Issue-6 (Oct 2016)

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